Every now and then i will keep posting random interesting things that i find on the web, The posts will show up,so don't be alarmed if you get lots of updates,I ain't spamming you. Trust me....they'll be worth your time...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Confessions Of A Shopaholic
Part 1: The Taxi-Wallah
It’s raining heavily, he can’t see 10ft ahead of him, one of his hands is on the steering wheel the other one outside manually operating the windscreen wiper, he’s constantly getting abused by the other drivers on the road and at the end of the 45min journey which should have taken 10min he gets paid rs.40. Welcome to the life of Mr. Amol Upadhay.
Mr. A is a taxi driver by profession. He drives the taxi in Mumbai. He has been doing that for the last 30 yrs. He doesn’t own the taxi; it has been rented out for a daily rent. He has been driving the same vehicle for the last 30 yrs.
On one of the rare occasions that I was heading to my office I boarded his cab from Dadar bound for Nariman point, and in the ensuing 45mins I learnt more than I had in the last 3 months.
Mr. A earns about Rs 1000 daily out of which he has to give Rs 250 to the owner of the car and he spends Rs.250 for the gas in his car. So his net income is Rs.500 per day. Now while that sounds like a lot it actually means around 15k per month which is not much when you have a wife and three kids to tend to. All three kids go to school. He says and I quote “I will do anything to make sure that they get the education that I didn’t and don’t end up as taxi drivers like me”. So he slogs his ass off to make sure that they get educated. Not just that, He even wants the right environment for them to study, so he buys an A/C on a 6 month loan so that they don’t have to be uncomfortable while studying!!
Part 2: It’s Not about Mumbai
You would imagine that Mr. A has no other option but this to earn his daily bread that he would be on the streets if he stopped driving his taxi. Well, you would be wrong.
Now this is the really astonishing bit. Mr. A has a 20 acre farm in his hometown in Bihar. He has a 3 storey bungalow on that farm and the entire farm is cultivated and managed by his brothers. A genuine WTF moment. Astonished, I asked him why in the name of all that’s holy would anyone leave all that and lead a dog’s life in this god forsaken shithole? Cultural issues? A family feud maybe?
Nope, none of the above, His brothers love him, they want him there so that they can all live together. No cultural issues either. The reason is that in Bihar his children will not get proper education and they will be mocked even if they try. Also one of his children is a girl, she would be an outcast if educated.
Given a choice he would love going to Bihar, if only it weren’t as backward as it is. So Mr. RT, if you know who I’m referring to , no one comes to this idiotic place because they want to take your jobs, they come here because they want a better life. They hate this place more than you hate them, But they just want the best for themselves and their children, Wouldn’t you?
So instead of damaging public property and using the unemployed youth to do your bidding, why don’t you try and do something for the lesser fortunate states. It will solve both problems, Yours and theirs.
Part 3: Holy Crap!!
22/06/2010 HI TECH COMPUTER SERVI MUMBAI IN
INR 2,800.00 DR
INR 2,800.00
19/06/2010 GAME SHOP RETAI MUM IN
INR 1,398.00 DR
INR 1,398.00
19/06/2010 HYPERCITY RETAIL INDIA THANE IN
INR 454.80 DR
INR 454.80
19/06/2010 1% SUPERVALUE CASH BACK
INR 13.98 CR
INR 13.98
18/06/2010 NILKAMAL LTD HO MUMBAI IN
INR 2,540.00 DR
INR 2,540.00
18/06/2010 1% SUPERVALUE CASH BACK
INR 25.40 CR
INR 25.40
13/06/2010 GAME SHOP RETAI MUM IN
INR 998.00 DR
INR 998.00
12/06/2010 ROCKPORT MUMBAI IN
INR 2,297.00 DR
INR 2,297.00
12/06/2010 14CREDIT CARD REPAYMENT
INR 10,000.00 CR
INR 10,000.00
12/06/2010 1% SUPERVALUE CASH BACK
INR 22.97 CR
INR 22.97
10/06/2010 SHREEJI FONES MUMBAI IN
INR 10,000.00 DR
INR 10,000.00
10/06/2010 1% SUPERVALUE CASH BACK
INR 100.00 CR
INR 100.00
08/06/2010 STOP N SHOP MUMBAI IN
INR 950.00 DR
INR 950.00
03/06/2010 AROMA CAFE AND LOUNGE THANE IN
INR 550.00 DR
INR 550.00
24/05/2010 THE BOWLING COMPANY MUMBAI IN
INR 287.00 DR
INR 287.00
23/05/2010 EYECON OPTICALS THANE IN
INR 350.00 DR
INR 350.00
14/05/2010 SONY WORLD THANE IN
INR 14,900.00 DR
INR 14,900.00
14/05/2010 1% SUPERVALUE CASH BACK
INR 149.00 CR
INR 149.00
10/05/2010 TRFD FROM 5546232910208106
INR 9,026.00 CR
INR 9,026.00
02/05/2010 MAINLAND CHINA POWAI MUMBAI IN
INR 6,331.00 DR
INR 6,331.00
Total Outstanding 27800.00
In-case you haven’t already guessed, this is my credit card bill !
How this is connected to the above article is that I just told you the monthly income of a lesser fortunate individual than I. And yet there are those of us that don’t even have a monthly income and still end up spending money that we don’t own. If you notice all the expenses given above a totally unrequired. And this is just the tip of the iceberg; there are people I know who are worse than I am.
I understand that just because someone else doesn’t have the money, we need not live like them even if we have it. But I think it’s time people like us started valuing the money more than what we currently do. That said I think it’s time for me to bring a closure to this article.
I’m off to get me a PS3 !!
Just Kidding !!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A Note on Change
Hello people, how are you guys doing?
Recently one of my close friends read this blog and as is customary between us he reviewed it. It’s a very important thing to do because there are those of us who are just too damn busy to review some damn blog and those of us who just don’t give a rats ass about it as long as it gives us a few laughs. So it is very important for a blogger to get proper views on his/her blog so that he/she can improve it.
For your reference, here is the review He posted:
Content: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Humor: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Ok, so here it goes finally. :p
Well, the reason I didn't send a review initially was because it was too early to be a critic. Firstly, I'm not a world famous blogger and secondly, blogs are like movies. They can start bad, and turn good or vice-versa. Now I will provide my inputs on the blog, but I have to know; what do you see yourself doing with this blog? Is there an ulterior motive to your blogging? Personal space, commercial value etc. etc.?
Your initial posts were quite boring, don't get me wrong, your source of material is good aka the content. But where you disappoint is the writing style. See, calling everyone a retard and an idiot doesn't make do. I know its a satirical blog, even I have the same undercurrent in my blog. People are dumb, period, but its these same people who are going to follow your blog, a majority at least, so well, hint at their stupidity, but in a subtle way. They should think you're writing about the person next door, not them specifically. So well, just calling everyone a retard and an idiot on every post doesn't do. It also causes the humor quotient to go bland. Its like "oh, shiva will write about this good topic, but he ll just go calling every one retarded or an idiot and that will be that". The art of dissing is when the opposite party doesn't know what's going to hit them.
Now for the main thing, you have to, have to improve on your language and writing skill. Thank god you don't use internet slang, but even otherwise, try to brush up on it. If you are writing for kelkarites and thaneites, then you are like Salman Rushdie. But otherwise no, improvement is must. Trust me, your blog will read even better which an improved writing style. Every post of yours I find at least one or two typos. I know you typed, I don't care about it and fuck you and offense meant and stuff. But these thing's are important for a good writer. I proof read 3-4 times and even then I get typos here and there. So in general, work upon your language, word build up, punctuation (very important). You can't just type..... like this... with dots.... used as separators...every... now...and then.... we are not chatting...... its blogging.
Otherwise, in general, the blog is great, and I really liked your content use, but improve upon the humor... just saying moron, idiot, flea infested baboon's butt, hairy balls etc. doesn't cut it. And work on the writing style. Also, for a computer genius as yourself, the blog looks pretty plain - try working on that. So well, I hope this helps...
tc
Well that’s the review, and as for the suggestions I am going to try and implement them.
These are the changes in a Point format,
1. Improved Language
2. Improved Content
3. Improved Layout
4. Improved Writing Style
Note: Guys, it would be nice if you could post your own reviews once in a while, for starters it will improve your own experience on this blog and secondly it will inform me about what I should do to become a better writer.
Recently one of my close friends read this blog and as is customary between us he reviewed it. It’s a very important thing to do because there are those of us who are just too damn busy to review some damn blog and those of us who just don’t give a rats ass about it as long as it gives us a few laughs. So it is very important for a blogger to get proper views on his/her blog so that he/she can improve it.
For your reference, here is the review He posted:
Content: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Humor: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Ok, so here it goes finally. :p
Well, the reason I didn't send a review initially was because it was too early to be a critic. Firstly, I'm not a world famous blogger and secondly, blogs are like movies. They can start bad, and turn good or vice-versa. Now I will provide my inputs on the blog, but I have to know; what do you see yourself doing with this blog? Is there an ulterior motive to your blogging? Personal space, commercial value etc. etc.?
Your initial posts were quite boring, don't get me wrong, your source of material is good aka the content. But where you disappoint is the writing style. See, calling everyone a retard and an idiot doesn't make do. I know its a satirical blog, even I have the same undercurrent in my blog. People are dumb, period, but its these same people who are going to follow your blog, a majority at least, so well, hint at their stupidity, but in a subtle way. They should think you're writing about the person next door, not them specifically. So well, just calling everyone a retard and an idiot on every post doesn't do. It also causes the humor quotient to go bland. Its like "oh, shiva will write about this good topic, but he ll just go calling every one retarded or an idiot and that will be that". The art of dissing is when the opposite party doesn't know what's going to hit them.
Now for the main thing, you have to, have to improve on your language and writing skill. Thank god you don't use internet slang, but even otherwise, try to brush up on it. If you are writing for kelkarites and thaneites, then you are like Salman Rushdie. But otherwise no, improvement is must. Trust me, your blog will read even better which an improved writing style. Every post of yours I find at least one or two typos. I know you typed, I don't care about it and fuck you and offense meant and stuff. But these thing's are important for a good writer. I proof read 3-4 times and even then I get typos here and there. So in general, work upon your language, word build up, punctuation (very important). You can't just type..... like this... with dots.... used as separators...every... now...and then.... we are not chatting...... its blogging.
Otherwise, in general, the blog is great, and I really liked your content use, but improve upon the humor... just saying moron, idiot, flea infested baboon's butt, hairy balls etc. doesn't cut it. And work on the writing style. Also, for a computer genius as yourself, the blog looks pretty plain - try working on that. So well, I hope this helps...
tc
Well that’s the review, and as for the suggestions I am going to try and implement them.
These are the changes in a Point format,
1. Improved Language
2. Improved Content
3. Improved Layout
4. Improved Writing Style
Note: Guys, it would be nice if you could post your own reviews once in a while, for starters it will improve your own experience on this blog and secondly it will inform me about what I should do to become a better writer.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)